Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Garbage Night, July 31, 2019

GARBAGE NIGHT

Are the stars out tonight?
Too cloudy. I've put out
Scott's valentine plant
giving it just the right
spritz of rain this evening.

Saddened, I must tell you
that Sandy Wood the voice
of what to look for in the
sky, has retired. A quirk in
that musical lilting voice
of hers mandated the change.

I'd imagined, when she spoke,
her lounging about in yellow
silk pyjamas, drinking green tea
from a demi-tasse.

As I drove home from Giant
I passed houses on my street
whose recyclables were loaded
with empty cartons.

Quickly I put my own items
away, including a Starbucks
cuppa java, and raced back out.

Rainlets dropped as I loped
down the street. Who cares
if I gets wet. I'm not gonna
melt and my purple hair has
already lost its lustre.

What do they eat in their
homes with young children.
Raisin Bran pokes out, bold
as a gondolier in Venice.

Gallon jugs of milk. Ah,
I remember milk for my then
little darlings, were they
Sarah and Dan?

And the adults? Boxes of pizza
whose smell lingers and beer
of all sorts fit to burst
your belly.

Scott Kelly the astronaut
is on TV upstairs. Jovial,
tossing off difficult things
as not a big deal, I shall
take my Raisin Bran - if only
upstairs to watch.

*

The hardest thing human beings have ever done


Woke up this morning thinking about a PBS program I watched before bed last night. View show here.


Scott Kelly returned to Earth from the International Space Station March 1 after 340 days as part of NASA's ambitious yearlong space station mission. 
(Image: © NASA)
Scott Kelly Onboard ISS
Sorry, but this is coming out in bits n pieces.

Scott Kelly is a former NASA astronaut who is best known for spending nearly a year on the International Space Station and for spending 520 days in space, which puts him on the list of Americans who have spent the most time in space. (The current record-holder is Peggy Whitson, at 665 days.)
He did two long-duration space station missions and two shorter-duration space shuttle missions between 1999 and 2015. Kelly is the twin brother of Mark Kelly, who also was a NASA astronaut.
Kelly's scientific goal during the one-year mission was to better understand how the human body adapts to lengthy periods in space. Most ISS missions are only five to six months in length. While longer missions of approximately a year (in one case more than 400 days) took place on the Mir space station in the 1990s, modern medicine has made it easier to measure changes in the genes.
Kelly and Russian colleague Mikhail Kornienko both spent 340 consecutive days on the ISS tracking how their bodies changed. Kelly also did a "twin study" with his brother to see if there are any genetic changes from spending long periods of time in space.
*
From ABC:
After more than 300 days in constant micro-gravity, U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly is confident human travel to Mars is “clearly doable.”
“I think what we've done in space proves we can overcome challenges,” Commander Kelly told ABC News’ David Kerley from aboard the International Space Station. “It’s something that I hope to see in my lifetime,” Kelly commented about travel to Mars.
*
Scott Kelly, twin brother of Mark, mentioned this was the hardest thing human beings have ever done. 
Lemme repeat dat. This was the hardest thing that the smartest people on earth have ever done and it proves we can do anything when we put out mind to it.
Space scientists said we will most likely must change our genetic codes to make sure we can live or travel to deep space.
Sayonara, my friends!


Tuesday, July 30, 2019

I've got the lo-down hot n lazy blues - How to gather useless items - A documentary

Today is Tuesday, July 30, 2019.

I'm sure our metabolism gets lower when it's hot outside.

Went out to my car which had six bird poop stains on it.

Very hard to get off until you really work on it, which I did, with a rag that used to be a camisole.



*
My mother will be 97 on 8-8-22.

My sister Donna organized a timetable where the sisters will care for her for six hours a day.

My day is Weds. I made my bean soup and bought a salad wrapped in a plastic container as thick as a tomb.

But don't believe ME, let's have Larry Davidson show you.

It may take a long time to load Larry's page.

*

A Bayada nurse came out to the house and said Mom has some liquid on her lungs. Why? Because she never moves!

For sure, she's in a lot of pain. A terrible amount of pain. Perhaps someone should come out to the house - darn, Cousin Leonard just died, and so did Donny Garber - but we could push her in a wheelchair and even TAKE HER OUTSIDE so she can get some sun.

She's a lot of fun to talk to and I do enjoy being with her.

DRINK YOUR GODDAM water, Mum, she must be reminded.

*


I brought this U S  Map to my volunteer job where a woman from Moscow said she wanted it.

Now that would certainly be a great name for a new story I could write. The Woman from Moscow. I was thinking however of writing about the PEA POD truck from the Giant supermarket.

*
Today I received 9 useless mailings. Yes, if you discard them in the trash, they will be made into park benches. Super!

Still, see if you can use them.

Book marks:  If you like a doctor save them for book marks. I wonder how Karl Rickles is doing.


Not bad for a man in his mid-nineties.

He's a devout Catholic.

Karl Rickels, MD
Professor of Psychiatry
Stuart and Emily B.H. Mudd Professor of Human Behavior and Reproduction
Dr. Karl Rickels is the founder of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Section at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a professor in the department of psychiatry and the Stuart and Emily B.H. Mudd Professor of Human Behavior and Reproduction. In 2008, he was also awarded the William Osler Patient Oriented Research Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement for research in which the investigator directly interacts with human subjects. Dr. Rickels is known throughout the world as the leading expert in the treatment of anxiety disorders. In his 575 publications and 9 books over more than 40 years, Dr. Rickels has made so many contributions to this treatment that he is recognized as the Dean of Psychopharmacology of anxiety disorders. As a testament to his extraordinary intellect, in his 80s, he remains an active researcher. As founder of the Penn program in the department of obstetrics and gynecology which treats and recognizes the special needs of women with mental health issues, his contributions continue to affect the lives of his many grateful patients.
The Belle of Cowbell: The Bipolar Therapist from Willow ...
As many of you know, I like making my own greeting cards and postcards.

This morning I just sent a beaut to my Goddard friend Iris. All yellow.

After Mailman Dante arrived, I wanted to swing out the door - he was across the street at the Myers house and ask how he liked my Yellow Postcard.

Restrained myself as I was suffering the lo-down lazy-man blues.

*
The editor of the Adelaide Review, Stevan V Nikolic, just wrote that he accepted my latest short story.

And what story might that be?

He never mentioned it.

Am guessing Promise Me about the Million Man March.



*
Have been looking fw to watching this documentary called ALL I'VE EVER KNOWN.

Watch it here.

Half an hour. Very moving. Learn about the land upon which you live.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Concert at Masons Mill Park

Didn't know who was playing but the bands are always great.

Photos please:

At the very end a little Asian boy arrived and won everybody's heart.

He tried to climb up the bandstand but Mom wouldn't let him.

 I parked across the street, then trotted down the hill - you'll see my shoes shortly - and sat on a series of benches.

The Red Angel Band was quite good. The female vocalist was excellent.

She sang the Stevi Nicks song Rhiannon, a few Carole King's including one she wrote for the Monkees, and a song that made Linda Ronstandt famous. Just one look.
I brought my purple camera which matched my purple hair and also a bag of salted pretzels.

People sat in little groups, some of them knitting.

Yes there were gnats which I reflexively swatted away.

Ahimsa.

Ages ago I read the Will and Ariel Durant books on Civilization.

From Wiki   The Story of Civilization, by husband and wife Will and Ariel Durant, is an 11-volume set of books covering Western history for the general reader.
The series was written over a span of more than four decades. It totals four million words across nearly 10,000 pages, with 2 further books in production at the time of the authors' deaths.[1] In the first volume (Our Oriental Heritage, which covers the history of the Middle East and Orient to 1933), Will Durant stated that he wanted to include the history of the Westto the early 20th century. However, the series ends with The Age of Napoleon because the Durants both died – she in her 80s and he in his 90s – before they could complete additional volumes. They also left behind notes for a 12th volume, The Age of Darwin, and an outline for a 13th, The Age of Einstein, which would have taken The Story of Civilization to 1945.
The first six volumes of The Story of Civilization are credited to Will Durant alone, with Ariel recognized only in the Acknowledgements. Beginning with The Age of Reason Begins, Ariel is credited as a co-author.
The series won a Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 with the 10th volume in the series, Rousseau and Revolution.

***
Okay, no can find shoes n socks I wore.
I munched on a small pack of Snyder's pretzels.
The Red Angel band thanked us people of Upper Moreland - yay! - I applauded and said they were gonna do two more songs.
I exited on the perimeter, found my car, and drove home while it was still quite light.
So, what do I do now?
Let's see what's on Channel 12, shall we?
Submitted my short story, which thankfully Martha called Wonderful to Scarlet Leaf Review. And, yes it was based on someone... Walter Straus. What a character. Hope you're still alive, Walt !!!


Saturday, July 27, 2019

Car Show in Hatboro

Oh, hello again, corpulent sir!

York Road was transformed into the Indy 500 wanna-be's.

Booths were set up so you could eat outside.

Dig the license plate below.
Moonlight Memories, the Hatboro Car Show.

Mobbed!

We parked near the back of Gamburg's Furniture. I was afraid we'd get a ticket but we didn't.

Tomorrow I'll put on captions.

Time to eat!

Bernie's in Hatboro had a 45 minute wait.

Bonefish Grill was 25 minutes.

We stood on our feet waiting for a table.

Marvelous food.

Till we meet again tomorrow.

Elaine Klawans and hubby Alan were there.

Alan is the main character in my new short story REMBRANDT  COMES  HOME. Loosely based on a fave character of mine who grew up in Bristol, PA.

Scott!  Scott!  Wait for me.

I'm so desperate to get the story read I even sent it to sister Lynn.





Thursday, July 25, 2019

Purty pictures

a ribbon cutting ceremony
These interior designers are attending a meeting in Dallas Texas.

This is from AD PRO, Architectural Digest. They want me to subscribe but I've been getting it for free for several years.

I copied beautiful images.

A library, designed by Giancarlo Valle and located in a New England mansion on the coast of Rhode Island.
Stephen Kent JohnsonLibrary designed by Giancarlo Vallea building with a pool out front

Taliesin West.

a house

The Copeland House in Oak Park, Illinois.

While Frank Lloyd Wright may be best known for his carefully crafted, original houses like Fallingwater, Ennis House, or his own home and studio, the legendary architect also worked on smaller projects early in his career. One example of this is his rehab of the Copeland House, an Oak Park home that’s just come back on the market. The home is asking $1,295,000, a $355,000 drop from the last time it was listed.

*
Many years ago, Ada and Rich, who live in a beautiful house in Huntingdon Valley, PA, gave me a great b'day present.

A trip to Fallingwater, near Pittsburgh, PA.

What could have better den dat?




I'm not the only Lonely - Weight training is important - Monumental screw-up below on Dresden Codex

It mostly happens in the morning when I awake.

I sit in bed and think how lonely I am.

Possibly it's bc I have nuffin to do all day long.

Smart people have thought of something called Tea with Strangers. 

For two hours, five-ish strangers sit at a cafe (or some other public place) with a host to talk. Not about anything in particular. The circumstances are unusual, but that's the point.
If none of these work for you, you can sign up and we'll email you when next month's tea times are all up. You can also apply to be a Host!
Hmm. Should I apply to be a host?
I just read about the importance of WEIGHT TRAINING, something I never do. Walt Straus gave me some bar bells but I must have given them away as they're nowhere to be found. 
Would it be okay, God, if I lifted something really heavy. I do have Miss Bissell which I could heft up in the air, swing about like a cheerleader, and see how that feels. If I feel stretched. Hold on.
I really enjoyed that and I think it helped my back.
I MUST write about Scott's telescope. 
We took it on his upstairs deck. Took about 5 minutes to set it up.
First he looked up in the sky and said, There's Jupiter. I remember anudder time we looked at Jupiter near his front porch.
He had a blue filter so the light wouldn't be too bright.
Please remove it, I asked. 
W/o the filter, here is what a saw - a bright white globe and three dots next to the globe. The dots were THE MOONS OF JUPITER.
Now that was a thrill.
In my 'tea with strangers' group I could certainly talk about dat!
So Scott and I did find my diabetes doctor's new office far far away. A most unpleasant drive.
I looked for a new doc and the name Weiss, I believe, came up. Not far away atall but he got the WORST reviews imaginable.
Condescends and talks to me like I'm a child.
What would YOU do, Dear Reader?
If only my primary care physician would treat me for this condition. I believe I know what I'm doing: keep the blood sugar low, protect your feet, exercise when sugar is too high.
Lemme see if I can find a pic of Jupiter and her moons.
JUPITER AND FOUR OF HER MOONS, CALLISTO, EUROPA, GANYMEDE ...
Scott and I watched ANCIENT SKIES on PBS, Channel 12.

Ya know how they always ask if you wanna buy the series for 19.99?

This is something I'd buy. So darn fascinating I would like to watch it over and over again.

This disc is of monumental importance. The Dresden Codex.

The Dresden Codex Venus Table

The most fully discussed and best known of all the literary material on astronomy from Mesoamerica is probably the Venus table of the Dresden codex. This is a table of mean motion covering 104 years. An introduction gives a calculation involving 12.19.13.16.0 1 Ahau 18 Kayab (a Ring Number) and a later date 9.9.9.16.0 1 Ahau 18 Kayab. In the interval of 1,366,560 days (72 CRs) represented by the difference between these dates, there is about a half-year shift, both of the tropical year and of the Venus synodic period.4 The calculations in the Venus table show clearly that the Maya would have known that this was a gross error on both
Venus and the Sun, and no one has yet suggested a good reason why they should count back to a base that they knew to be incorrect. Kelley (1976, p. 256) has suggested that the initial date was calculated as a rising of Venus (probably at or near one of the equinoxes or solstices) four days after inferior conjunction and that the table provided a constant measure of the amount by which observation was off from reality. At any given time, it would be easy to see how many days of error had accumulated in a given number of formal repetitions of the basic 584-day mean interval. Everyone else has assumed that the terminal date was fairly closely in step with reality. It has also been assumed that the introductory calculations were used to "reset" the (late) table base to new positions, but that the table was not adjusted.
Besides the introductory page, there are five additional pages, each containing the set of month names for a period of 584 days, with the month names repeating after 5 x 584 (2920), which equals 8 x 365. There is also a table of the 13 repetitions of the day names in each of the month positions. These are accompanied by glyphs for cardinal directions and glyphs for a series of 20 deities. Besides this, there are pictures of three sets of deities, associated with the different table positions. The month names mark intervals of 236 days, 90 days, 250 days, and 8 days.5 It has been assumed that inferior conjunction lay in the middle of the 8-day period. Because of the asymmetry of the 236- and 250-day periods, the structural or mean superior conjunction is at day 52 of the 90-day period rather than at day 45. The 90-day period seems far too long for invisibility at superior conjunction but
4 For the tropical year, modulo 365.24220 yields 3741 cycles and a remainder of 188.9299 days;for Venus, modulo 583.92166 yields 2340 cycles and a remainder of 183.3158 days.
5 Modern rounded values are closer to 8,263,50, and 263 days for these synodic intervals (Gibbs 1977). Cf. §7.1.4.4 for their meanings.
was also used by the Babylonians (see §7.1) and is substantially less than that used in China (§10.1.4).
There are actually three sets of month names, the middle one beginning with 18 Kayab, corresponding to the introductory date, the top one with 13 Mac, and the bottom with 3 Xul. The date at 13 Mac and those on the same line on p. 46 are the only ones in the table that lack the past tense suffix, which, in Kelley's opinion, should imply that 13 Mac was the current date when the table was first written. It is widely assumed that 3 Xul and 13 Mac serve as correction positions for alternative table bases, but it seems equally likely that they were of primary importance in interlocking Venus with eclipses, as 1st suggested by Spinden (1928, pp. 44-45; 1930, pp. 91-92), and then amplified by Smiley (1961) and Kelley and Kerr (1973, pp. 182, 188). The minimal interval between a given name on 18 Kayab and the same day name on 13 Mac is 11,960 days, precisely the length of the eclipse table, as Spinden noted. The minimal interval between the same day name on 3 Xul and 18 Kayab is 9360 days, a major eclipse interval (the Thix, cf. §5.2.2) of particular Maya interest because it also restores the same day of the 260-day period. These figures mean that if there is an eclipse at or near any date in the 3 Xul line, there is a high probability that there will also be eclipses on the equivalent dates of the 18 Kayab and 13 Mac lines. These positions are diagrammed in Figure 12.10.
Spinden (1924, pp. 184, 193) was the first to draw attention to the relationship between the date 1.18.5.4.0 1 Ahau 13 Mac given at Palenque and now recognized as the birth-date of a Maya god, and 1 Ahau 13 Mac, a major base of the Dresden Venus tables. As Spinden pointed out, the next occurrence of the date 1 Ahau 13 Mac following 9.9.9.16.0 1 Ahau 18 Kayab, the primary base of the Dresden Venus table, is at 9.11.3.2.0 1 Ahau 13 Mac. We now know that this date fell within the lifetime of Chan Bahlum, ruler of Palenque, in whose reign the tablets relating to the birth of the gods were executed. The two dates 1 Ahau 13 Mac are separated by 2 x 1508 Mesoamerican years or 2 x 1507 tropical years, so that Maya calendar dates were at the same seasons for four years at both ends of the interval. The period of 1508 Mesoamerican years may be called the great solar round. It is surely no coincidence that 1.18.5.4.0 1 Ahau 13 Mac is half a great solar round after the four-year period in which the normal Maya era base (13.0.0.0.0 4 Ahau 8 Cumku) fell.
Stela C at Copan shows a similar back calculation to 10.19.14.17.0 6 Ahau 18 Kayab, one short Venus period of eight years before 11.0.3.1.0 1 Ahau 18 Kayab,6 which is three great solar rounds before 9.9.9.16.0 1 Ahau 18 Kayab, the central base of the Dresden Venus table (slightly corrected from Spinden 1924, p. 174).
Figure 12.11 shows the emergence of various deities from a water lily vine with star glyphs, the two-headed serpent, the Bird of Heaven, and a brief text opening with a date 13 Muluc 8 Zotz. The principal god is identified in the text as One Ahau, the equivalent of Quiche Hun Hunahpu.
6 These dates precede the usual era base at 13.0.0.0.0 4 Ahau 8 Cumku.
Telescopes Mastery

Telescopes Mastery

Through this ebook, you are going to learn what you will need to know all about the telescopes that can provide a fun and rewarding hobby for you and your family!

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